


Outside Chance

by Souliebird



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 00:38:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6882307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Souliebird/pseuds/Souliebird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sawamura Daichi didn’t know trying to get rid of his head aches would lead to interaction with Nekoma’s setter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outside Chance

Sawamura Daichi knew that going on a run long after the sun had set was probably not one of his better ideas, but he did not care. The pounding at the base of his skull had been persistent all throughout the last few matches of practice, despite whatever he had done to try and stop it. He wanted nothing more than to curl up under a blanket and sleep the headache away, but his adrenaline was too high and he knew it would be impossible to try to get any sleep when surrounded by so many teenage boys. 

His hopes were that a run would get rid of his excess energy as well as clear his head. It would have been a good plan if he was home and not in Tokyo, where he wasn't familiar with streets he intended to jog. He had an inkling of what route he would take; it was the same one his team had run in the morning, but everything looked different in the moonlight. 

But Daichi was almost legally an adult, and if he got lost, he had his phone on him and could access a GPS. If all else failed, he could call Asahi and hope no one would overhear the conversation. 

He had to adjust his pace four times before he found something that didn't make his head pulse with each step. He wasn't going particularly fast, so there was little chance of running himself to exhaustion, but the fresh air and the distinct lack of the thump! of a volleyball hitting the ground quickly did wonders for the pain in his head. He only had to run a few quiet blocks before he felt the dull ache begin to recede. 

It was surprisingly easy for Daichi to clear his mind, to let the thoughts of which sets Karasuno had won and lost, what errors they had made, how close they were to their next real match, and entrance exams slip away and to only focus on his breathing and whether or not he should turn left or right at the next corner. 

Tension slowly seeped from his shoulders and after his body felt loose and finally relaxed, Daichi decided to turn and return to the school where the training camp was being held. Luckily enough, he vaguely recognized where he had ended up; the corner market where everyone went to between matches was just up the street, so he couldn't be too far away from the school. 

He kicked the dirt from the soles of his shoes before starting up his jog again. As he passed the market, loud voices and laughter floated through the door and Daichi couldn't help but turn his head to look in. A large group of what to appeared to be college aged men were inside, talking and joking, and by the redness of their cheeks, were probably a little more than tipsy. Daichi wrinkled his nose in disgust, but was glad to see the group looked like they would be more of an annoyance to the convenience store workers than a problem. He continued on, debating picking up his pace to try and tire his body out even more.

As he passed the next alleyway, a flash of red and yellow caught his eye and something in Daichi’s chest told him to turn back. Never one to argue with his intuition, the captain paused and slowly back traced his steps until he was at the mouth of the alley. He blinked at the site before him, unsure exactly what he was seeing.

The setter of Nekoma’s volleyball team was sitting on the alley floor, his knees drawn up to his chest, looking like he had just been running for his life. He was pale and clammy, while trying, and failing, to catch his breath. He was staring up at Daichi with red rimmed and terrified eyes, his phone clutched to his chest in hands that couldn't stop shaking. The older teen felt there was a pretty good chance the younger was about to bolt away if he didn't break out into sobs first. 

Daichi blinked down at Kozume Kenma and the situation clicked into place in his mind. The setter was having a panic attack. 

Daichi’s cousin, a bundle of nerves on a pair of colt like legs, had them often when she visited that Daichi had decided to research them so he wouldn't have to run to find his aunt every time his cousin began to hyperventilate. 

Daichi looked down at the bottle blond, a beat off momentary stillness, then he began to act. He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off, before slowly stepping forward to drape it over the setter’s shoulders.

Kozume watched Daichi warily, tensing up and letting it a small watery hiccup when the larger teen got closer. He flinched when the fabric settled over his frame but not even a moment later he was pulling it closer, burying himself in a large jacket. The setter then ducked his head and hid his face behind his long hair, shying away from Daichi. 

The wing spiker blinked slowly at the small shivering form in front of him, debating on a course of action. He knew asking what was wrong was pointless, and he didn't know the young setter well enough to expect such a personal answer anyways. There was absolutely no way he was going to leave the younger teen alone in this state, and calling someone from Nekoma would probably just make things worse, so Daichi needed to calm Kozume down and get him back to the school. 

As far as Daichi could remember, they had never exchanged words beyond a formal greeting and he had no idea what he could say or do besides the first stupid idea that popped into his head. 

Carefully, making sure to make no sudden movements, Daichi sat himself beside the blonde. “Kozume-san, right?” He asked in a gentle voice. When he got no response, he assumed he was correct. “We are going to count, Kozume, in intervals of fives, okay?” 

The setter lifted his head and turned his wide golden eyes to Daichi, confusion and fear evident. The older teen simply gave what he hoped was a soft smile. “I'll start, and you join in, alright?” The younger have no indication that he had heard Daichi, simply weakly gasping for air, but the captain pressed on. “Ready? Five. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Twenty-five.”

“Thirty.” Kozume’s voice was barely above a whisper and sounded ragged, but relief washed over Daichi anyways and he couldn't help but smile a little wider. 

“Thirty-five. Forty. Forty-five. Fifty.” They counted in unison until one hundred and eighty before the blonde lowered his head back down to his knees and went quiet. Daichi watched him closely, noting his breathing seemed to have evened out and his shaking had subsided into random quivers. Pale hands turned and fiddled absently with the phone the setter was clutching for dear life and Daichi vaguely remembered that every time he had seen the setter off the court, he seemed to be hunched over the device. 

Daichi let two minutes of silence pass before he spoke up again. “Would you like to go back to the camp now?” Kozume lifted his head just slightly so he could give a fraction of a nod. Daichi pushed himself up into standing and offered out a hand to help the setter up. Kozume ignored it, slowly standing and hugging Daichi’s jacket even closer to himself and keeping his gaze downcast. The captain of Karasuno did not mind, figuring that the blonde must feel embarrassed and Daichi certainly did not want to make him any more uncomfortable. “This way,” he said, trying to sound confident that he actually knew the way back. 

Kozume walked slightly behind and to the left of Daichi, quiet as a shadow. The older felt no need to talk as they made their way to the school and he could have enjoyed the company if he wasn't so concerned over Kozume. They weren't on the same team or even friends, but a growing sense of protectiveness was forming in his chest. He wanted to make sure the younger was safe and would be okay. It was probably the ‘Captain’ in him, as Sugawara liked to put it; that thing that made him want to take charge and to make sure those around him were taken care of. 

The walk was slow but it did not take long for the school to appear on the horizon. Once they were in its shadow, Daichi paused and looked over his shoulder to Kozume. “Will you be alright?” The younger looked up, catching Daichi’s eye for the briefest of moments before nodding and shuffling forward. Daichi watched as the blonde disappeared sound the corner of the building, heading towards the entrance closest to where the Nekoma team was staying. He waited until he heard the doors open and close again before going to his own team's sleeping quarters.

He was suddenly exhausted and felt like he could sleep for days. 

\---

Daichi groaned and buried his face his into his pillow, the pounding in his head radiating down into his neck, making it ache and feel so stiff. It took a few long and painful minutes for him to realize the silence around him. There were no sounds of his sleeping teammates, who tended to make so much noise when when unconscious, so Daichi forced himself to lift up his head and look around.

He was surprisingly alone in the room that had been assigned as Karasuno’s sleeping quarters. He felt the shock settle in his stomach, because he had always been one of the first to wake up, never the last. Yamaguchi was usually the most difficult to get out of bed, with Daichi having to sometimes get someone to drag him out from under the covers. 

The captain pushed himself up into sitting, groaning as his head pulsed. He closed his eyes for a moment before standing, scrubbing at his face. He took the time to make sure he was decent before slowly making his way to the classroom set aside for eating, mentally preparing himself for his friends.

“Captain!” 

Daichi winced at the shrill voice of his team’s tiny middle blocker. There was the think of what Daichi was pretty sure Kagayame hitting the back of Hinata’s head, confirmed when the setter hissed something Daichi didn't catch. 

“Both of you be quiet. Daichi, how are you feeling?” Sugawara said quietly, like a silver haired blessing. 

“Yeah, you looked really sick! Asahi said we should let you sleep!” Karasuno’s libero shouted, making Daichi cringe again. There was another smack of someone hitting Nishinoya.

“Not sick, just a bad headache.” Daichi mumbled as he sat between the two other third years of the team. Sugawara pushed a bowl of rice towards the captain while the ace stood, planting his hands on the back of Daichi’s neck. The older jumped at the contact, then relaxed when he felt Asahi’s calloused fingers begin to rub at his tense neck muscles. 

He closed his eyes with a sigh, missing the way the other teams were watching him, particularly two pair of golden eyes. 

His team seemed to appreciate his want for quiet, or Suga and Asahi were glaring them enough to keep them nervous. Either way, Daichi was perfectly okay with it and ate while his friend massaged his neck. 

Once breakfast was finished, the teams went back their rooms to change into their practice uniforms. Daichi could feel his headache start to fade again, and he hoped that it wouldn't return once he began to run around and everyone started to yell. 

It didn't, but it didn't fade more either, staying particularly persistent during each set they played. It made it difficult to concentrate and slowing his reaction time and Daichi missed more receives than he would care to admit later. His team cheered him on anyways, though he felt horrible that he was the worst performer on the team despite being captain. They won two sets, no thanks to Daichi. 

When a break finally came, Daichi looked at the bridge of his nose, feeling the sweat gathered there. He wondered mildly if for the next sets, he could substitute himself out, a chance to let his head rest, or if that would make him a horrible captain; a selfish jackass.

It would be a decision he'd make after getting air.

The midday sun felt pleasant against his skin, cooling his sweat and the rays didn't hurt his eyes nearly as much as he thought it would. 

He took a deep breathe, tilting his head back and closing eyes. His skull panged, beating down his neck, but the two day headache long finally felt almost manageable. 

A gentle breeze had a smile pulling at Daichi’s lips and he thought, just maybe, if he stayed out here a few minutes longer, he would be up for the rest of the day's games. 

“Sawamura-san?” 

Daichi jumped at the soft voice behind him and whirled around, his eyes widening at seeing Nekoma’s setter.

Kozume looked more composed than he had the night before; his guarded golden eyes no longer glassy or red, though he looked slightly exhausted and there was a faint flush over his cheeks.

“Kozume?”

“Thank you.” The blonde held out his hand on front of him and Daichi glanced down to see the setter was holding his Karasuno Volleyball Club jacket. The captain had never even realized he had not gotten it back before. He took it, noting how it has been carefully folded, then looked back up to Kozume, who was avoiding his gaze.

“Our next set is against Karasuno. I hope you are feeling better by then and that we have an exciting game.” Kozume’s voice was soft, but his words seemed stiff and oddly rehearsed. Before Daichi could respond, the blonde gave the smallest of bows before turning and all but running back to the gym. 

Daichi smiled down at the jacket in his hands, deciding he would definitely not let his head ache get in the way of his next game.


End file.
